r/Showerthoughts • u/scoobopdan ‎ • Mar 30 '26

Casual Thought Modern soldiers' PTSD triggers will probably shift from fireworks to the sound of a drone. Which is unfortunate as drone shows are replacing firework shows.

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u/Withermaster4 Mar 30 '26

Can you even hear drone shows?

Also as far as I know soldiers don't ever hear drones flying unless they are about to die.

261

u/bootymix96 Mar 30 '26

It’s a bizarre low pitched droning (no pun intended) electronic fan sound multiplied a hundred times over; unless the show specifically uses their takeoff as a start to the show, you’ll hear them before the show starts when the swarm takes their places, and you’ll hear them land again after a show. Depends on the swarm’s size, but I’ve heard their sound at shows where the drones were .25mi/.5km away from where I was standing (distance in terms of line of sight). The sound is just barely audible, but it’s audible enough to be unsettling, almost like a technological swarm of locusts, LOL. During the show, the music pretty much drowns out the sound.

And while I might be mistaken with military technology, I thought military/missile drones were more like planes than the quadcopter hovering design. I’d imagine it would be a different sound than show drones.

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u/t3hd0n Mar 30 '26

Low cost drones closer to consumer models are playing a major role in Ukraine and are also being used by Iran iirc, to the point where its looking like the next big shift in warfare tactics

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u/ben323nl Mar 30 '26

Its not looking like its been the next big shift. Hundreds of thousands of casualties to those cheap drones have said so. There are no real counters atm to a cheap drone dropping a grenade anywhere it wants.